The Surf is both narrower and taller in the body than the average supermini. Interestingly, it has slightly less head room than the ë-C3, but leg room enough to beat it in both rows – and enough of each for a couple of adults of at least average height to travel happily in the back seats.
Space for the driver is more than adequate: our mid-spec test car had fully electric seat adjustment and plenty of scope to adjust the steering column. A 20mm outboard offset to the position of that column, however, obliges you to sit slightly towards the outboard side of the driver’s seat, which compromises comfort a little.
More widely, the Surf’s cabin seems to be particularly well-appointed and well equipped for this price point. There’s a small but useful digital instrument display, while BYD’s familiar rotating, free-standing multimedia display sits on the centre of the fascia.
Drive and audio controls are arranged in a row of rotating knobs and buttons just below the multimedia screen. The action of some of these feels unintuitive at first, but their placement is convenient enough. There are notes of solidity about their tactile feel, too, which matches that of the car’s window switches, door releases and other fixtures.
Just as it has with its other recent model introductions, BYD is delivering plenty of tangible, perceptible material quality with the Surf’s interior – perhaps even more so in this segment than elsewhere. That should stand it in good stead with buyers who don’t see why a £20,000 new car need look or feel cheap.
Multimedia – 3.5 stars
BYD’s 10.1in rotating touchscreen infotainment system is standard fit here, even on an £18k Active model. And that swivelling function isn’t solely for wow factor: if you like a ‘bird’s eye view’ style of sat-nav mapping, for instance, a portrait-oriented screen makes a lot of sense.
Just know that as soon as you switch to the system’s smartphone mirroring mode (wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard; wireless charging only on top-tier models), the screen automatically motors back to its landscape orientation. Also note that BYD’s factory sat-nav isn’t really good enough to make you inclined to use it over your smartphone’s Google Maps app.
There’s no physical cursor controller with which to navigate the display, and while you can configure the content of the screen’s bottom shortcut bar, it only displays icons at a very fiddly, annoyingly small size. The system’s layout is otherwise a little protracted, but it’s usable enough with practice.
